Two Roads One Path
by gamerwannabe96
Summary: When a love triangle develops in the middle of an already hectic life, who does Shelby Shepard choose? Will it be the faithful sidekick Kaidan, or the caring, new friend Garrus?
1. In The Beginning

A/N- Hi everyone. This is my first fan fiction so please review politely. I will be basing this story from Mass Effect 1 with what I have played so far in the game and will add more chapters as I progress. I am open to suggestions for new stories, continuations of stories etc. So please feel free to share your thoughts! The only thing I own is my Shepard and my story. Bio Ware owns everything else. Alright, I hope you enjoy!

~Two Roads One Path~

Shelby Shepard and Tali walked around the Citadel talking about Shepard's most recent encounters on Edin Prime.

"Shelby this vision you had could serve as huge evidence against Saren. Why won't you present it to the council?"

Shelby snorted. "And tell them what? That I had bad dream so it just has to mean SOMETHING. Because I think that sounds like 100% believable explanation. "

Shelby sarcastically smirked at Tali. Tali just turned and shook her head in the opposite direction. That was her way of visibly rolling her eyes at Shelby.

"Oh come on Tali. You know the council won't just take someone's word for something like that."

"Wouldn't they at least consider the word of your Embasidor?"

"Nope not even Udina's word would count that much for the council."

"Well, it looks like this will be than you thought, Shelby."

Shelby looked over at Tali. "Yeah. No frickin' kidding."

Just then, pounding footsteps started echoing through a hallway behind the two.

"Commander Shepard! "

Shelby and Tali quickly turned around to find Kaidan running towards Shelby. Tali looked over to Shelby and Shelby said "I have no clue."

"Commander Shepard. I'm glad I caught you!"

Kaidan said only slightly winded. Shelby straightened her posture and went into "commander mode" as some people put it.

"Is something the matter?" Tali asked. Not even acknowledging her Kaidan continued to Shelby.

"No. No. Not really. I don't think so anyway. I was just talking to captain Anderson, commander. He said something about not forgetting a council meeting I think."

Shelby's eyes widened. She dismissed Kaidan and bolted in the other direction towards Citadel Tower with Tali right beside her.

"How in the galaxy do you forget a council meeting Shelby!?" Tali yelled at her.

"I don't know Tali; It's been a strange day!" She yelled back. When they finally reached the bottom of the stairs, her legs burned and she could feel her heart beating in her ears. She looked at Tali and smiled.

"We made it." She huffed.

"Yeah. Barely." Tali huffed right back.

Tali stood straight and looked ahead. Shelby looked up then did the same.

"Ah. Shepard, your barely on time. Come on the meeting has started." Captain Anderson said.

With that they started up the stairs as she turned back to Tali, Tali stiffened up with a happy tone and said,

"Good luck Commander Shepard."

A/N- And that's it for now. Please review! It really is appreciated and helpful!


	2. New Friends

After the council meeting, Shelby heard a ping and checked her console.

Commander Shepard,

I just over-heard some info I think you might like to know. Meet me at the entrance to terminal two in the presidium.

-Kaidan

'Um. OK then' she thought. As Shelby made her way over to meet Kaidan, she (literally) bumped into a Turian in a blue armor suit.

"Oof. Oh I'm sorry Miss.."

"Shepard. Shelby Shepard."

"Ah. Commander Shepard. I'm Garrus Vakarian."

For a split second, Shelby thought she was going crazy. She wasn't sure why, but she just took a liking to Garrus. 'He seems like a nice guy.' She couldn't help but thinking it.

"How do you know that I'm a commander Garrus?" 'Wow. That was a stupid question.' She immediately thought to herself.

"I'm actually looking for evidence to take down Saren. So we're on the same team; so to speak."

"Why are you trying to take him down? "

Shelby doesn't even know what's wrong with herself. She's never truly been THIS curious about anything or anyone.

"I was on a mission with him once. Something about him just rubbed me the wrong way."

Just then, Shelby's console pinged again. 'Jeez Kaidan, I'll get there.' She thought. With that, she turned to Garrus.

"I should be going." She said.

"Alright commander. Just let me know if I can help with Saren in any way at all. Alright?"

"Sure thing Garrus."

Her console pinged again as she turned around. And this time, her thoughts came out of her head.

"Goddammit Kaidan! I'll get there when I fucking get there!" Even though she couldn't see it, Garrus looked back to her and smirked. 'She's pretty feisty for a commander.' He thought.

She meet up with Kaidan and about killed him for pinging her a total of 5 times in 3 minutes. So it was a good thing that she grabbed Tali on her way over. All three of them sat on a bench and Kaidan proceeded to tell her about a turian named Garrus Vakarian who had some useful inside information about Saren. The only reason she didn't tell him that she already knew all of this was because she REALLY didn't want him to ping it all to her later "just to make sure she got it."

"Thanks for the information Kaidan. You're free to go."

"But I'm the one who ping..." he was interrupted by Shelby giving him the "don't sass your commander" look.

"Ok. Ok. I'm leaving. " he said as he got up and walked away.

"You didn't seem to interested in that information, Shelby. Is something the matter?" Tali asked.

"No." Said Shelby. "I just met Garrus already this morning so I already knew pretty much everything Kaidan told me."

"Oh. Why didn't you just tell Kaidan that?"

"Because if I did, he'd just ping it to me later. And frankly, I don't want anymore pings from him for at least a year."

Both of them chuckled at Shelby's over exaggeration. Shelby thought that Kaidan was a nice guy and all, but he seemed clingy sometimes. Almost like a sad lost puppy clingy.

"Shelby? Are you still here?" Tali said as she waved her hand in front of Shelby's face. Shelby must have gotten lost in her own thoughts.

"Huh? Yeah. I'm here. I was just thinking; Kaidan did tell me a couple of things that Garrus didn't."

Tali tilted her head. "Really? Like what?" She asked.

"Like about this Fist character. And that krogan bounty hunter, Wrex. Having a krogan on our side for this might be helpful."

"Well, let's go find him then." Tali said.

Shelby nodded, gathered her squad and set out to find Wrex. Shelby, Tali, and Garrus found Wrex then exchanged some sassy commentary, and proceeded to welcome Wrex to the squad. Shelby, Garrus and Wrex wasted no time starting their search for Fist. With Wrex's advice, they made they're way over to Chora's Den to do just that.


	3. What's Going On?

A/N- So, I will be starting with the fight between Fist to entertain you all with my all powerful, noob moves from when I played this part of the game. I hope you enjoy!

Shelby Stormed into Chora's Den not even aware of the thugs inside.

"CRAP! Take cover!" She yelled.

Garrus took the cover panel across from her and said "What else did you expect? A cake walk?"

Shelby raised her eyebrow at him and continued to shoot at the thugs. After about 15 minutes the trio advanced further into the den. Garrus and Wrex shot down the next two thugs they encountered then carried on. They all arrived in a back room where Fist and two Defensive Turrets were waiting for them.

" Alright guys, we take down the turrets first, then go after Fist." She turned to look behind her. "Alright. Let's...HOW IN THE BLOODY HECK ARE **BOTH OF YOU **ALREADY DOWN!?" Shelby sighed. " Well, it looks like I'm on my own for this one. Me and my horrible aim. Excellent."

Shelby clicked in her ammo and took down the turrets first. When she finally had Fist on the ground, Garrus and Wrex walked up behind her.

"Nice of you two to join me." She said not even looking back at them. Shepard and Fist had a conversation, in which Fist spoke of a quarian meeting the shadow broker in person.

"That's impossible! The Shadow Broker doesn't do things in person." Said Wrex. "Just let me finish him now." He added.

"We're not shooting an unarmed prisoner." Garrus explained.

Fist told them all about the meeting that the could. Including when and where, and that the shadow broker won't be the one there. Just after Fist finished, Wrex shot him down.

"Wrex! Just what do you think you're doing!?" Shelby yelled at him.

" I was paid to kill him by the Shadow Broker, and I do not intend to leave my jobs half done commander." Wrex retorted back.

"Commander, I suggest we get to the quarian now." Garrus said to Shelby. Shelby gave him a nod. "Right then. Let's move out."

Back in Chora's Den, more thugs had found their way in. "JEEZ!" Shelby exclaimed after nearly getting hit buy a bullet. "Aw screw it! Run for it!" She yelled. When the group reached the hallway, they had to "take care of" a couple of assassins before they could actually speak to the quarian. As soon as the assassins were.. "taken care of" everyone came out of their cover.

"Tali!?"

"Shelby!?"

Garrus and Wrex exchanged confused looks.

"Wait a minute. You two actually know each other?" Asked Garrus.

"Yes. We met when Tali first got here starting her pilgrimage about 3 weeks ago."

"We became fast friends." Tali added.

"Not that this isn't great and all, but back to the mission. Shouldn't we take the quarian back to your Ambassador to share that information?" Wrex asked.

"Yes. Let's go." Shelby agreed.

Back at the human embassy, Tali presented her evidence and explained how she got a hold of it.

"Nice work, commander. That recording proves that Saren is undoubtedly a traitor. The council needs to see this immediately." Said Captain Anderson.

"Yes. Meet the Captain and I in the Citadel Tower when you're ready." said Ambassador Udina. Shelby grabbed Garrus and Tali and headed to the Citadel Tower. Shelby and Garrus talked the whole way there.

"So, Commander, if you don't mind my asking, How did you end up in the Alliance?"

"Well, I was originally raised on Mindor. When I was sixteen, my colony was raided and my friends and family got slaughtered. A passing Alliance patrol rescued me, but everything, and everyone, I loved was destroyed. So I enlisted with the Alliance military. How about you Vakarian?"

"Please, You can call me Garrus."

"Alright then. Garrus, how did you end up here?"

"Well, I grew up on Palaven. I was targeted as a potential Spectre candidate once, but my father blocked the candidacy because he despises Spectres for their extralegal freedoms."

"Oh. Well, couldn't you re-apply?" 'There I go again with the curious thing! What is my deal?' She said to herself still not understanding what about Garrus made her so curious.

"I guess. I have no regrets though. I mean after all, I still get to protect the peace of the galaxy so, I'm not complaining."

They both chuckled and threw each other a smile. They had arrived at Citadel tower when Shelby heard an awfully familiar voice from behind her.

"Commander!"

"What in the world does he want now?" She said quietly.

"Commander, You wouldn't happen to too terribly busy right now would you?" Kaidan said rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes Kaidan, I am. I have to get going to a council meeting."

"Oh. Uh, ok. I'll see you around then." Kaidan said then turned around and walked back in the direction he came.

"You know Shelby, you could at least try to be a little nicer to him. It seems like he likes you." Tali suggested.

"Of Course he likes me. I'm his Commander." Shelby said, not quite getting Tali's point.

"You know what I mean Shelby Shepard." Tali turned around and walked towards the tower.

Shelby let out a little sigh. 'I hope your not right Tali.' she thought and made her way towards the tower with Garrus.

After the meeting, Garrus and Tali stood behind Shelby.

"I've never seen a council meeting before."

"Well, was it worth the wait, Garrus?" Shelby asked.

"Yes. I believe so." Garrus replied with a smile.

"Congratulations Shelby! You are the first human Spectre." Tali said happily.

"Yes, this must be an honor commander. Congratulations Commander Spectre Shepard."

Garrus said and stuck out his hand clearly feeling slightly awkward. Shelby smiled, appreciating him trying human custom, and shook his hand.

"Thank you both! Now, Let's go take down Saren."

A/N- TA-DA! Sorry it's kind of long but I figured I needed to get some interesting material into this chapter. Do you think Shelby will figure out what's going on inside her head AND Kaidan's? Please Review!


	4. It Must Be Love

Shelby sat on the edge of a pier, her wavy, dark chocolate-brown hair left down so it ended just a couple inches above her butt. she was looking at the sunset and sitting to her right, was another character with a significantly bigger build than hers. The ending day sun was so bright that all you could see was their backside silhouettes.

"I'm so glad that we could meet here together, Shelby. I really like spending time with you." The character's voice was almost gravely yet, smooth and gentle.

Shelby turned her head towards the character and laid her head on the character's shoulder. "Me too." She said. At that moment, a three fingered hand reached behind her and wrapped around her shoulders. Shelby looked up, and the character placed the other hand under her chin, and pulled her head up as the character moved it's head down and...

"Commander? Shouldn't you be up by now? Or, at least in your apartment?" Kaidan said as he gently shook Shelby back from her dream with a very concerned look on his face.

"Huh? Oh, yes. What time is it?" 'At least try being nice to him.' Tali's advice rang through her head.

"It's 8:00 commander. Are you feeling alright? I mean, you were asleep on a bench." Kaidan said still wearing concern all over his face.

"I'm fine Kaidan. Thank you for waking me up. I'll be going to my apartment now." Shelby said slightly confused. 'How on earth was I tired enough to sleep on a bench outside my apartment building?'

"Let me walk you up, commander." Kaidan said.

Tali's advice rang through her head again. "Sure." She said quickly half smiling at Kaidan.

It was a long awkward silence up to the top floor. When they got to Shelby's door, Kaidan grabbed Shelby's elbow and turned her around with a big smile on his face.

"Say, commander, you wouldn't happen to be doing anything today would you?" Kaidan asked rubbing the back of his neck.

"I have to meet with Anderson and Udina today to get my next lead to stopping Saren."

"Oh. Well, that shouldn't take too long should it?"

"I don't know Kaidan. We might set out to actually look for Saren right afterwards."

"Well, um, what about before we leave?" Kaidan said rubbing the back of his neck again.

'Why is he trying so hard? And for what?' She thought as she turned around to unlock her door. 'Well Tali, I tried nice.' She thought as she entered the door. "What do you say comman.." And then proceeded to close it on Kaidan's face.

"Oh. Ok. I'll let you get changed first." Kaidan said into the door before he walked away dropping his head a little.

Shelby walked through her Kitchen and dining room in one, and went to lay down on her couch in the living room. The apartment rooms were pretty spacious for being called " small quarters". As she laid on the couch, she relived her dream and tried to finish it with no prevail. 'Wait a minute. I know that voice. But from where?' Shelby thought about it for about 5 minutes but still couldn't figure it out. 'I'll figure it out eventually.' She thought and decided to get her butt up and get dressed.

She put on her black N7 tee with her black cargo pants and her boots then put her hair up into her usual bun showing off her butterscotch blonde peekaboo. she grabbed an apple out of the fridge on her way out and ate it on her way to meet Anderson and Udina. On her way to the embassy, she looked away for a second and when she looked back, she once again, slammed right into Garrus. Luckily, Garrus reached out and grabbed her by her elbows to steady her and keep her from falling. Shelby wanted to melt away when he grabbed her. She just felt so comfortable around him for some reason.

"Commander! I'm so sorry!" Garrus quickly apologized.

"That's alright Garrus. Thanks to your quick reaction, no harm done." Shelby said and smiled at him.

"How is it that each time we meet, we smack into each other?" Garrus said and chuckled.

"Beats me. I'm just as puzzled." She said and the two of them laughed at that fact.

"So where are you off to this afternoon commander?" Garrus asked sounding genuinely curious.

"Well, at the moment, I'm off to meet with Anderson and Udina to get some more information on finding Saren. Then, I guess I'll plan my day from there."

"That sounds simple enough." Garrus said.

"Yeah, I enjoy the few slow days that I do get." They both smiled at each other and laughed a little.

"Hey Shepard, would you be interested in getting a coffee or something together sometime?" Garrus asked.

"I don't see why not." Shelby said and smiled at Garrus.

"Excellent!" Garrus said with a smile of relief. "I'd better let you get back to your work, Shepard. I'll be seeing you around?"

"Yes. You certainly will."

With that, Shelby walked past Garrus to the rapid transit and for the first time in a long time, she felt genuinely happy. Then she realized something; she likes Garrus. A lot. And quickly turned back and said "Hey Garrus," Garrus turned around and looked at her. " You can call me Shelby. All my other close friends do." Garrus smiled, nodded and turned back around and Shelby did the same. Shelby was officially in the happiest mood she had ever been in in her entire life and nothing today was going to change that.


	5. Starting A New Mission

A/N- So this is going to be a short chapter, I got excited about having 5 chapters up. =) But I hope you still enjoy it the same!

Shelby got the information from Anderson and Udina then went to meet Joker with the rest of her crew to set up for boarding the Normandy later that day. Shelby wasn't sure why but she had a weird feeling about today. Come 1:00, Shelby headed over to the loading docks and found Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina waiting for her.

"Big news Shepard, The Normandy is yours now. She's fast and stealthy. The perfect ship for a Spectre. Take good care of her Commander." Anderson said bluntly.

That must have been the weird feeling Shelby had felt all morning. Because as soon as she heard that, that strange feeling went away and made her heart drop a little.

"But Captain, the ship is yours. Are you sure about this?" Shelby asked.

Captain Anderson nodded. "Yes. You'll need your own ship. Besides, Spectres answer only to the council and it's my time to step down."

"At least be honest with me Captain." Shelby said with a slight plead in her voice.

"Alright." Anderson said.

Anderson then proceeded to tell Shelby that he was up to be a Spectre himself years ago. But then Saren made sure that would not happen. He falsely blamed a horrible accident on Anderson. Thus, the council rejected him as a Spectre.

"I promise I won't let you down, sir." Shelby said with a slight authoritive tone.

"Just focus on finding that conduit. Saren's long gone by now. You'll be wasting time looking for him." Captain Anderson said.

"I suggest finding Matriarch Benezia's daughter. She's a scientist specializing in protheans. Dr. Liara T'soni. She may know something helpful to your mission." Udina added.

"Sounds like we'll be doing that first then." Shelby said.

"That is completely up to you now Commander. You're a Spectre. You don't answer to us now. We're more of your informants now." Captain Anderson lectured.

"That's more or less true." Udina added. "If you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my office now. Anderson will be here if you have any questions Shepard."

With that said, Anderson nodded and Udina headed back to his office. "You know where to find me Shepard."

Shelby stuck out her hand. Anderson shook it and she said, "Thank you Captain Anderson. I won't disappoint either of you." Shelby smiled and turned to board the ship. Shelby isn't usually one for tender goodbyes with her bosses or squad members but she figured she owed Anderson and Udina that much for everything, she wouldn't be a Spectre without them. After all, They're the ones who got her out of a crappy situation and into the N7 program in the first place.


	6. Hot Waters

A/N- So, this is going to be set forward by about three weeks so all the characters have been on and off the Normandy a little. Plus, Shelby and Garrus have officially started dating. Alright, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It should be pretty interesting. Please R&R!

On board the Normandy, Shelby walked around looking for her crew to make sure everyone was settled in and ready to leave tomorrow morning. She wanted to find Kaidan last, but he had this really weird ability to find her first.

"Hey Shepard." He said walking up behind her. "This ship is amazing don't you think?" He said as he walked up to next to her side.

"Yes. Captain Anderson made sure to take the very best care of her. And I intend to do the same."

"That's great Shepard." Kaidan said Kind of brushing off what Shelby just said. "So listen, I was wondering if you wanted to go get a drink tonight?"

'Ok, I know he's annoying, but he's not stupid. He has to know about Garrus and I.' Shelby thought. Honestly, Shelby wanted to say yes and just forget about it to teach him a lesson. But, she knew better. She didn't need Tali's advice ringing through her head for that one. Besides, she had already made plans with Garrus to go to Flux together at she would much rather go on a date with Garrus the gentleman than with Kaidan the clingy puppy.

"Sorry Kaidan, I already have plans." She said and started walking away. 'Dodged that bullet.' She thought.

"Would that be with that C-Sec turian?" Kaidan said spitting the sentence out with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Shelby stopped dead in her tracks. She just metaphorically got shot in the foot. Shelby turned around slowly, glaring at Kaidan.

"Why do you care who I have plans with?" She said now giving him the death stare. Kaidan just barely lifted his head and smirked. Shelby was quickly using up all of her "intimidate from a distance" tactics on Kaidan. She took a few steps closer to him hoping she wouldn't have to get too close. Kaidan didn't even flinch in the slightest. 'Please tell me this is all a bad dream. What the heck is wrong with him?' She thought to herself.

"What? Did I hit a soft spot Shepard?" Kaidan said mockingly.

'Alright, Screw This!' Shelby thought as she ran over to Kaidan, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him against the wall. Luckily, they were alone in the mess hall because Kaidan made a pretty loud thud against the wall.

"I don't know what you think your doing soldier but you got a lot of nerve speaking to your commanding officer in such a way. I suggest you straighten up real quick before I knock you out." Shelby growled to Kaidan.

"I know my place here commander. Do you know yours?"

Shelby drew her fist back and they both stared at each other angrily neither one of them breaking eye contact. Shelby aiming right between Kaidan's eyebrows at the top of his nose.

"Shelby? What are you doing?" It was Garrus.

Shelby quickly moved her aim down and to the right of Kaidan's nose and brought her fist down hard and fast. She let Kaidan fall to the ground to lay in his pain for a moment then grabbed his shirt collar again and pulled him back up to her eye level with one hand, her fist ready for another round with the other. She moved her head down to him so that her mouth lined up with his ear.

"Next time soldier, I **won't** miss." She said.

Shelby straightened up then dropped him again to lay in his misery, walked by Garrus and stopped at the stairs to wait for him. Kaidan looked up, his cheek was already gray and red with a matching black eye. Garrus looked from Shelby to Kaidan then walked over to Shelby and gave her a hug. She hugged back tight. She loved how Garrus didn't care what happened, he still comforted her before even thinking about lecturing her. Though he never really did lecture her anyways. Garrus grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her his arm's length away never letting go of her. He gave her a caring, concerned look.

"Now, are you alright? Because I'm assuming there's some reason you just punched one of your squad members."

Shelby snorted "Some squad member he is." She said as her eyes started to water. She didn't want to cry, nor did she know why she was going to. Seeing this, Garrus pulled her back into him and he laid one arm across her back and the other between her shoulder blades and put his hand on her head.

"Hey, its ok. I'm here now. I've got you."

Shelby laid her head on Garrus' chest and all of her emotions seemed to come out at once. She stood there wrapped in Garrus' arms and just let the tears flow. A couple minutes later, Garrus softly spoke up.

"How about I walk you to your room?"

Shelby looked up and nodded. Her eyes swollen, her cheeks red and wet. Garrus used one hand to help her dry her cheeks and Shelby smiled at him. Then he moved one arm to around her waist and walked with Shelby to her room. They hadn't been dating very long, but Garrus already hated seeing Shelby so upset.

When they got to Shelby's room on the Normandy, Shelby opened the door, walked over and sat down on her bed. her face wasn't as red now but her eyes were still puffy from crying. Garrus closed the door then walked over and sat right next to Shelby and put his arm around her again and turned his head to look at her.

"Alright Shelby, I know by now that you don't cry. At least not in front of other people. So just let it all out; what's bothering you so much?" Garrus said and gave her a squeeze.

She then proceeded to tell him about how clingy Kaidan is, and how he's been "socially rouge" towards her the past two weeks, and how it all built up inside her until she finally got tired of it and exploded it on Kaidan today. Garrus sat there listening intently nodding to Shelby and occasionally giving her another squeeze. That was one of the many things she loved about Garrus. He's a good listener. He never interrupted and only asked questions when she was done speaking.

Shelby finally finished and Garrus brought her onto his lap. he put his forehead to hers and they just sat there quietly; enjoying each other's presence. A few minutes later, they heard a nock on the door.

"Shelby, are you in there?"

Tali. Shelby had forgotten that Tali said that she would come over to help Shelby get ready. And considering if Shelby had her way, she'd be going in a t-shirt and jeans, she was glad Tali remembered. Garrus gave her a little nudge, encouraging her to get the door for her friend. She went to the door and let Tali in.

"Hi Shelby. I... What's wrong?" Tali said as she noticed Shelby's still slightly puffy eyes. Tali looked around and saw Garrus.

Oh I'm sorry! I must have the wrong day." She said and turned around towards the door when Shelby grabbed her arm and laughed. Garrus was happy to hear her laugh. It always made him feel better too.

"Its ok Tali. we were just talking. actually I have to tell you the same stuff." Shelby said as she pulled Tali back into the room. Tali grabbed a chair from the kitchen area and sat down by Shelby's bed while Shelby closed the door. Shelby walked back over to Garrus and sat right next him again. Shelby told Tali everything she told Garrus. And even though Tali didn't always understand human logics, she listened quietly and intently to Shelby.

"Talk about a rough morning Shelby." Tali said.

"Well, that's why Garrus is here. He was making sure that I was ok. Which, I am now thanks to you guys." Shelby Said with a thankful tone. Garrus looked over at her and gave her a smile and another firm squeeze.

"Well Shelby, Do you still want to go out tonight?" Garrus said looking into her eyes. Shelby smiled at him. She loved how Garrus always wanted to make sure she was happy and comfortable.

"Yes I do." She said with a big smile.

"Alright. I'll leave you two to it then." He said then smiled and walked out the door.

A/N- Sorry that this was such a long chapter! If you guys ever have any questions just PM me. I will get back to you as soon as I can. So anyways, thank you for reading and please review! I really appreciate it when you do! Bye for now. =)


	7. The First Encounter

Shelby woke up and looked over at her clock. 6:30 am. She had another half hour before she had to get up and go back to the Normandy. Shelby rolled over to her other side and met Garrus' soft gaze.

"Good morning." He said, gently placing his hand on the side of Shelby's head and smiling at her.

Shelby smiled back. "You know, it doesn't technically have to be morning yet for another half hour. " She was partly kidding and partly not. She liked her sleep; and it was even better since Garrus agreed to stay with her last night.

"Well then, I have half an hour to just be with you." Garrus said while he ran a finger down her jawline and cupped her chin in his hand. Shelby just smiled at him. A minute later, her console pinged. Shelby groaned.

"You should probably get that Shel." Garrus said. He had just recently given her that nickname. She had never really had a real nickname before but she liked it.

"Alright." Shelby sighed.

She got out of bed and checked her console that was sitting on her dresser.

I'm sorry that this is still early commander, but I thought that you might want to hear some important information. Will you meet me at the docking bay when you get this?

-Kaidan

"Uggh. Last time you had information for me, I already knew about it." Shelby mumbled.

Noticing her mumbling, Garrus had gotten up and walked up behind her. He put his arm around her shoulders and smiled at her. "So, what's with all the mumbling?"

"Kaidan says that he has important info he wants to share."

"And that's a problem why?" Garrus asked with a little laugh.

"Because, I honestly don't really want to be around him."

"Well, would you feel better if I came with you to meet up with him?"

Shelby looked up at Garrus and smiled. "Mayybe." She said and gave him a little laugh.

"Alright. You'd better get dressed then." He said and turned Shelby back towards her dresser. "I'll be back after I go get cleaned up, ok?"

"Ok." Shelby said with a smile.

About 15 minutes later, she heard a knock on the door. Shelby let Garrus in and he gave her a coffee cup.

"What's this?" Shelby asked curiously.

"Coffee. Coffee gel. Space coffee. Whatever you want to call it." He said with a smirk as he sat at the kitchen table.

Shelby laughed. She doesn't really like coffee, but she took a drink just to amuse Garrus. However, to her surprise it wasn't coffee, but hot chocolate. Shelby had a pleasantly surprised face, causing Garrus to chuckle. Shelby smiled, set the cup down and walked over to Garrus. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you." She said before she walked away to put her hair into a bun. She came back out to the kitchen and looked at Garrus.

"Ready?" She asked Garrus, who shook his head and walked over to her. He put one hand on her cheek and wrapped his free arm around her waist and kissed her. She kissed back, now not wanting to leave and wanting to stay in that moment forever. Keeping his arm around her waist, he pulled back and simotaniously wrapped his other arm around her waist. "Now I'm ready." He said as he smiled at her. She gave him a big hug and a smile back and they made their way to the docking bay.

"Good morning commander! I'm glad you could make it. " Kaidan said, not even acknowledging Garrus. Garrus walked closer to Shelby and stiffened. He never took his eyes off Kaidan and never said a word. He wasn't angry with Kaidan for being rude, but he could sense something was up with Kaidan. And he was **not** going to let Kaidan do anything to Shelby that he shouldn't.

"Commander, I think you'll be happy to hear that we were able to successfully pinpoint the planet in the Artemis Tau cluster where that Doctor is located. The planet is called Therum."

"Excellent work soldier. Back to your post. "

Kaidan saluted Shelby then caught Garrus' glare. Kaidan shot it right back at him. Garrus widened his stance as if he was preparing to fight. Shelby looked momentarily confused, then she looked at Garrus. Her confusion automatically turned into concern. Shelby knew that turrains defend their mates, but she didn't know what Kaidan did to set Garrus into protection mode.

"Garrus? Hey, what's wrong? Garrus?! Come on Garrus I'm right here." Shelby said and wrapped her arms around his strange waist still looking up at him with pleading eyes. Kaidan saw this and bowed his head sadly, then his face was very angry and he turned to go back to the Normandy. Garrus' gaze followed him all the way to the air lock on the ship. Garrus broke out of his gaze and looked at Shelby. She laid her forehead on his shoulder in relief. Garrus then pulled her in front of him and gave her a hug.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"It's ok. You just have to tell me what exactly set you off." She said calmly.

"Fair enough." Garrus said with a smile. Then both of them boarded the Normandy hand in hand to start looking for Dr. Liara T'soni.


	8. Finding The Doctor

On the Normandy once more, Shelby set a course for Therum in the Artemis Tau cluster. once the ship set off on it's way, Shelby went to meet Garrus at the mess hall. He told Shelby that he would explain what happened earlier with Kaidan. She found him standing by the table alone.

"Hey there." He said with a little smile.

Shelby walked over to Garrus and laughed as he picked her up as soon as she was close enough and carried her over to a chair and sat her down. Garrus took the seat right next to her.

"You know, I could of done that myself." She said smirking. "My legs aren't broken." She said in a mocking tone.

"I know. I just thought that would be more fun." He said Mocking right back.

"So, what exactly, happened this morning?"

"Well, you know how turians defend their mates when they feel that their mate is in danger?"

"Yes. Then if it comes to it, you fight over the mate. What I don't know is about what Kaidan did to set you off."

"Well, it was what he was feeling more than what he was doing. He got defensive of you. And I could feel it when he completely ignored my presence when he saw the both of us. That put me on guard. What really "set me off" was when he stood there and stared at me. Whether or not he intended it, that was a threat in turian body language. That's why I widened my stance to brace myself."

"Wait, what do mean he got defensive? like he was scared?"

"No. Like he was protecting something...like he was protecting **you**."

Shelby just slumped back in her chair with a confused look on her face. She sat there and thought for a moment.

"Why would he be protecting me? I was perfectly safe."

"I don't know. If you want a second opinion, I'd go ask Tali. Chances are, she'd know more than I would. Humans have such a complex social system that they're one of the strangest species on the citadel." Garrus said and casually crossed his arms. " No offense though Shel." He quickly said noticing Shelby's sideways glance at him. She got up and walked around to Garrus' back and gave him a gentle hug around the neck.

"Thank you for explaining." She said.

Just then, Joker came on in her earpiece.

"We're ready to land commander."

"Alright Joker. Take her down easy and quiet."

"Yes ma'am."

"We're ready to land. You ready to go find the doctor?" Shelby asked Garrus.

"Let's grab Tali and get going." He said with a smile.

Shelby nodded and then went to go get Tali.

* * *

On the Surface of Therum, the terrain was very rough and bumpy. With various pipe lines running everywhere and large ponds of lava all over the planet. Shelby's driving skills didn't help though.

"Shelby, all you have to do is drive in a straight line! Is it really that difficult?!"

"Well, I'm sorry that the steering is so touchy Tali." Shelby said sassily.

Just as she was turning her head back around, the Mako went up onto its' rear wheels and did a backflip. Shelby had managed to run into a pipeline.

"You know I love you Shel, but could we get to the dig site alive please?" Garrus said teasingly.

"Her. Her. Her" Shelby said looking over to Garrus and as if things couldn't get any worse, a ship flew over them and dropped down two geth and they started shooting. Shelby seemed to ignore them and continue to swerve the Mako around.

"Shouldn't we be shooting back?!" Tali yelled

"If we keep moving, they won't hit us."

Tali looked over to Garrus and they exchanged "oh boy " looks.

"AH HA! There it is!" Shelby exclaimed.

"Shelby, let's find another way around. going through the front would be suicide." Tali said.

"Alright." Shelby said and turned the Mako into a path on the right.

"Shelby, look out for the..." Tali tried to warn her.

"Shit! A turret!" She said as she managed to hid the Mako behind a pole so that the pole got shot, not the Mako. She sent two bombs onto the turret quickly and simply taking care of the turret.

"Ok. Let's go."

At the back entrance to the dig site, Shelby went on a vehicular massacre, running over all of the enemies several times rather than just shooting them like a normal person. Tali and Garrus bolted out of the Mako.

"LAND!" Tali exclaimed.

Shelby gave her a slightly offended sarcastic look. Garrus just ran for the nearby building, gun at the ready.

"Not that I want to get back into the Mako anytime soon, but we should probably get moving." He said and motioned his gun toward the door. They got all of the gates opened, then it was time to get back into the Mako.

"Are you sure you want to drive, Shelby?" Garrus asked.

"I can do it!" She said and hoped into the driver's seat. Tali and Garrus reluctantly followed. Coming across more enemies, Shelby continued to run them all over performing all sorts of wheelies, flips an rolls along the way. They finally reached a path that the Mako couldn't use and got out to travel on foot.

"Next time, I'm driving. You have no other choice." Tali said looking at Shelby and walked on.

"I'm with Tali on that one." Garrus said and playfully gave Shelby a little shove. Shelby smirked at him and pushed on his shoulder. At the entrance to the ruins, two geth armatures appeared along with a geth colossus.

"Take cover!" Shelby yelled and ran to a crate on the left with Tali.

Shelby sniped down the armatures, once again again some how managing to make them head shots. Now all the group had to worry about was not getting hit by the stink'n colossus. Finally after about 20 minutes, the colossus fell.

"It's about stink'n time!" Shelby exclaimed. They all walked into the protean ruins. Shelby sniped out some more geth, with reasonable ease.

"Seriously, how are you so good with a sniper if you have never used one before?" Tali said amazed at Shelby.

"I don't know. Lucky, I guess." Garrus smirked but kept quiet.

After exploring a little, Shelby found an old mine rocket and launcher. 'Huh.' She thought and started pushing buttons on the control pad. Of course, she accidentally set it off and blasted a hole in the wall. The group walked to the hole and saw an elevator leading to cells and a way out. They rode the elevator up and when it stopped they saw an Asari woman in some sort of bubble.

"Hello? I am not sure how you managed to get past the barrier, but that panel over there, it should release this protective bubble." Liara said.

Shelby walked over to the panel and pressed some buttons. It didn't take long before you heard Liara drop to the floor.

"Thank you for releasing me. This is not the sturdiest structure. We need to get out fast." Liara said.

That said, the group tuned and got on the elevator. When they reached the top, they were greeted, by of course, more geth and a Krogan. Shelby took cover and she and Garrus took out the Krogan first, then the geth. After all the enemies were down, the structure started to tremble. "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE! " She yelled making sure Liara went ahead of her. Luckily, Shelby had already radioed Joker to bring the ship in, so the Normandy was already waiting for them.

"That was a bit too close commander. You do realize that lava isn't very friendly to ships right?"

"Well, I figured that the best pilot in the galaxy could handle it." She told him.

Joker just smirked and continued to fly the Normandy away from the planet and back to the Citadel.

A/N- Just so you guys know, chapter updates may start coming slower than every day like I normally try to do because I am back in school now with a job and my free time has been dramatically slimmed. So don't worry, I'm still working on the story. Oh, and before I go, please keep profanity out of the review section as much as possible please! Alright, until next time! Please review I really appreciate it!


	9. Just A Bad Dream

A/N- Hello again! It's been a little while since I last had a chapter up. Sorry about that. Life is busy over here. Thank you to vakariangal for proof reading! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Shelby made her way to the conference room to update the council on her mission status. Afterwards, Shelby headed over to her room to change back into her casual clothes, but she only made it to her bed. She wasn't really tired, but she needed a few minutes to relax. She laid on the bed and thought back. A lot of good things have happened to her in past few years. She was saved when her home was raided, she got into the military program which led to her N7 position, then worked her butt off to become the first human spectre. Shelby smiled a little at the thought of that. And things only got better from there. She met Garrus, she was privileged with being the new captain of the Normandy, and she is leading the mission to stop Saren.

Shelby's eyes started to flutter closed only to be interrupted by a knock on the door. Shelby groaned and got up and walked over to the door. She reached her hand out to turn the knob, but she hesitated and her hand hovered over the door knob. For some reason, she REALLY didn't want to open the door. 'Seriously Shelby? Put your big kid pants on and open the stink'n door. What's the worst that could happen?' She thought to herself. Regardless, she moved slowly and quietly. When Shelby had the door cracked open, it flew towards her and slammed her against the wall. Shelby staggered to her feet trying to get her wind back when she looked up. Shelby's eyes widened and her jaw dropped a little. She had expected some sort of angry species protesting her spectre position; she was WAY off. Standing in front of her was two two-toed feet attached to long legs and a turian body with an undesirabely familiar face. She didn't know why she was scared, but Shelby cringed at what she saw; who she saw. Saren.

Saren grabbed Shelby by the collar and threw her across the room quite a few times; Shelby desperately trying to get away and get to her feet each time, but with no prevail. Finally, Saren quit throwing her around like a rag doll and picked Shelby up by her shoulders and slammed her against another wall and holding her there. Shelby had a cut slightly to her right side on her lip and a line of blood from her hairline on her left side but that was pretty much it as far as injuries went. Shelby thrashed around in Saren 's grip but he had her firmly held to the wall. "Let me go or so help me Saren, you WILL die." Shelby said threateningly. Saren just laughed. Everything Shelby did and said just seemed to be his entertainment.

"Pathetic Shepard. Just pathetic. Surely, you know that I could crush you if I so chose." Saren said snarling at Shelby.

"Then what's stopping you?" Shelby growled back.

Saren lifted Shelby away from the wall and slammed her into it even harder than before. Shelby's vision started to get spotty and blurred then she felt shaky; more like a rocking motion. "Come on Shel." She heard faintly in the distance right before everything faded to black. Shelby opened her eyes and looked around. She was on the floor in her room by her bed. She was also wrapped up in someone's arms. She looked up to see a very concerned Garrus. Garrus sighed and pulled Shelby to his chest, resting his head on her's as he spoke.

"Oh thank the spirits." He said relieved. Shelby wrapped her arms around his waist and cuddled up next to him.

"It's alright. I've got you. It was just a dream Shel; you're alright."Shelby just sat there a minute before she looked up at Garrus again and he laid a hand on the back of her head.

"It was Saren. He got onto the ship somehow then found my room and threw me around like a rag doll. And the worst part is I could of sworn it wasn't a dream. I felt him grab my shoulders and beat me around. It was so real." She started to get upset all over again, so Garrus pulled her close to him again keeping his hand on her head.

"Hey, you're alright. I'm here now." Garrus said in a calm soothing voice.

Shelby took a deep breath and sat up on the bed. Garrus got up and sat next to her. Shelby looked over to Garrus with a curious look on her face.

"Hey, how did you get in here? I thought I locked the door. Oh, and why did you come in?" "Well first question," Garrus rubbed the back of his neck. " I kind of owe you a new door." Shelby shot him a "what do you mean by that" look and headed over towards the door.

"YOU BROKE DOWN MY DOOR?!"

"Well, I was on my way over here and when I was right outside your door, I heard a loud thud and then a lot of struggling noises and I got worried that something was really wrong. If it helps at all, that is one sturdy door."

"What do you mean is?" Shelby laughed. "Half of it is lying in smithereens on my floor!" Shelby smiled at him.

"That's exactly what I mean. The other half is still on the hinges." Garrus said as a matter of factly. "Well, I don't think that a half of a door is going to do much good Garrus." Shelby teased.

"Yeah. I promise I'll get on that."

"Okay." Shelby said and started to walk back over to Garrus.

"Oh my gosh! Commander, what happened to your door?" Shelby stopped in her tracks, her smile instantly fading at the sound of Kaidan's voice.

"Kaidan, what are you doing here?" Shelby asked with too much "I'm annoyed" in her tone than she had intended as she turned to face Kaidan.

"I heard a lot of commotion and I just wanted to make sure that you're ok."

"Well, I'm alright. Thanks for your concern." Shelby said dismissively.

Kaidan looked down and a look of shock came across his face.

"Holy crap commander, was some one using your door for target practice or something? "

"Yeah. Something like that. Are we done here? I'd like to get back to fixing the door. "

"Oh, do you want any help?" Said Kaidan with a slight desperation in his voice.

"I think I can manage . Thanks though."

"Are you sure? I can alwa..."

"Kaidan" Shelby said I. A warning tone with a "go away" look.

At this point, Garrus; who was now resting his forearms on his knees, started paying attention to Kaidan. Kaidan looked over and noticed Garrus sitting on the bed.

"Oh. I'll be leaving then." Kaidan said bitterly.

He kept his gaze locked on Garrus as he turned around towards the door. Garrus calmly stared back the whole time. Kaidan then proceeded to walk away allowing Shelby to turn back towards Garrus. She widened her eyes, did a big eye roll, and sat back down next to Garrus.

"I wish I knew what his problem is." Shelby said.

"Who knows. Last time he was cocky and errogant and now he seems kind and caring. This is why humans are hard to understand. "

"Yeah. I'll give ya that one...Now, about that door." Shelby said and looked over to Garrus.

"I'll get right on it." Garrus said with a smile and kissed Shelby's cheek before getting up and walking over to the door.


End file.
